Contrary to fathers' rights propaganda, father perpetrators (along with stepdads and caretaker boyfrends) dominate the most vicious crimes against children: sexual assault, abusive head trauma, murder-suicides, crimes involving gun violence, and other similar forms of physically violent/fatal child abuse. And as more dads are providing child care (either because mom is working and can't find other care, or because dads are increasingly getting unsupervised visitation/custody through the family courts), more dads are are being found guilty of basic child abuse and neglect as well.

10/25/15 -Because of severe time constraints, we are no longer able to do regular updates at Dastardly Dads. We will occasionally post articles on general studies on child abuse/domestic violence, news pieces involving abusive fathers in custody/visitation situations. We wil also be updating the Killer Dads and Custody lists, while looking for a better, more accessible platform for the data.

7/11/16 - We started this blog on June 24, 2009--just over seven years. And like all good things, it's time to bring this project to a close. It has served its purpose. We have close to 10,500 postings regarding fathers and child abuse, with hundred of those cases being enabled by the family courts, social services, and others in authority. The documentation is clear. It is now time to stop documenting and put that energy into changing the situation that puts thousands of mothers and children at risk every day.

Ian Ruddock killed his five-week old daughter, Olivia, at their family home

Ian Ruddock killed five-week-old Olivia at the family home and two years later attacked the second child.

He was convicted of culpable homicide and attempted murder.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how the 34-year-old evaded justice and the baby’s fate was only discovered after doctors treating his second victim tipped off police.

The court heard Ruddock left the boy with a fractured skull and ribs – similar to injuries suffered by Olivia.
Ruddock, of Shawlands in Glasgow, told the court: “I was trying to get her to wake up. I can just remember holding her and trying to get her to wake up. I don’t remember very much at all. I do not remember much for the next few weeks.”

Asked whether he believed he had harmed his daughter, the father-of-three replied: “I don’t believe for a minute that I’ve caused her death. It’s not even remotely possible.”

Two years after Olivia was killed at a house in Williamwood, East Renfrewshire, Ruddock targeted another child in Glasgow.

He seized the boy – who can’t be identified for legal reasons – inflicting blunt force trauma to his head and body.

Police launched their investigation after hospital staff treated the boy, detectives discovering what happened to Olivia when checking Ruddock’s past.

Consultant radiologist Greg Irwin, who worked at Glasgow’s Yorkhill Children’s Hospital, told the court there was “incontrovertible” evidence Olivia sustained three fractured ribs before her death.

At the time, doctors concluded she had died from bronchial pneumonia.

Mr Irwin said it was a “regular occurrence” for medical staff to misdiagnose fractures.

Ruddock’s wife, Wendy, 37, told the court she “never believed” her husband had done anything wrong after Olivia’s death in March 2011.

Last night, Detective Chief Inspector Maxine Martin said: “It is difficult to understand how anyone could harm a defenceless child, let alone her father, who should have been there to protect her. This was a particularly difficult case due to the passage of time, the ages of the children and complexity of the medical evidence.”